A special day, Thurs 6/20/24

 

Happy Summer Solstice!  In our case, here in Belgium, we began the day with light jackets on as we started pedaling toward Amsterdam.  Nice to be out in the morning, riding and simply being present on our bikes.  We left Ghent and cycled downstream through a pretty diverse landscape along the tidal Schelde River to Dendermonde, but our ship's to be docked for the night in St Amands.  Woo-hoo, no rain was forecast for today! 

Imagine rolling along and then seeing two-humped camels beside the bike path!  Not what you'd expect in Belgium!  Everyone stopped for a photo-op.  Apparently they're remnants of a circus.  I also got a cute shot of Sheila and her granddaughter, Ally.  Today is a special day for Sheila.

Most of the towns we pedal through or visit have attractive Petunia displays.  Our guide, Peter, says Petunias are to Belgium as Tulips are to Holland.  

Our second stop was at Laarne to view the castle.  We couldn't go in (though I would've loved to tour the inside) -- it was quite regal-looking from the outside.

Jimmy and me standing on the outer moat bridge.

Looks very castle-y, don't you think?  Plus on either side of this main building are smaller houses, not sure if they're residences or what.  

Inner moat.

Back on the bikes till it was break-time so we could use the facilities and maybe buy a drink of some sort.  This was the place!  These breaks are always welcome! 

Here's a bit of trivia for ya.  Belgium is roughly the size of the State of Maryland.  Gives you an idea of how big the country is.  And the Red Poppy is its national flower.  Our lunch stop was a lovely spot on an artificial lake (formed when the locals dug for peat -- think heating homes -- and so much was dug up that water filled in the depression.  They say its full of eels now.  Also water lilies. 

And a Swan family. 😊

L-R:  Jimmy, Melissa, me, Leslie, Fran, Ross, Sheila, Carol, Tina, Cameron (grandson), Dee, Rod (son-in-law) and Ally (granddaughter).  13 wearing The Blue Shirt (just Sheila and family/friends).  These two pictures were taken at the lake.

Back story: Today is Sheila's 80th birthday.  She's the gal in the center holding the handlebars.  In early April, when Sheila mentioned she was booking this trip for her 80th, Jimmy and I looked at each other and said, probably simultaneously, sign me up!  We figured this-a-way:  He and I are also turning 80 this year (November), so the three of us in the '44 club could kinda celebrate together -- uh-huh, that's 1944!  Sheila and daughter, Tina, designed the shirts for everyone (13 -- including herself, her family and friends) and she decreed we all wear these shirts on her actual birthday.  Jimmy has his shirt backwards! 

Enlarge pic to see what it says.

We took another break in Dendermonde.  Above are buildings lining Dendermonde's market square.  Some of our crowd are sitting here and drinking a beverage.  Others are walking around or using the loo.

Dendermonde City Hall, center.  These old European cities all have at least one giant market square, which, IMHO, is perfect for us to park our bikes and get Out and About for a few minutes.  The photo above this one shows shops and cafes on the other side.

We rode 26 miles today.  Dinner was a delicious slow-cooked beef dish with sides, and after the dishes were taken away, many of the window curtains were drawn "against the bright sun," and table pounding began.  Loud and louder.  Then the cake appeared!  Imma tell you, this was one of the best birthday's I've ever experienced.  Top left, Michel, our chef, presented the cake.  The candles were lit.  Top right, Sheila was thrilled with the cake and wondered if she should blow out the candles (remember COVID?).  DO IT, we yelled.  Bottom left, it's a done deed.  We all sang HB, clapped, hooted, whistled and howled (like at a baseball game or something!)!  The cake was whisked away to be cut into at least 40 pieces (man, it was a really good cake!), and (bottom right) the two people from Quebec City came forward and asked Sheila if she wanted HB sung in French.  Icing on the cake, pardon the pun, their song was fantastic.  More clapping and hooting!  At that point, we settled down to "let them eat cake!"  

Up on the top deck, I waited and waited for the sun to set, and I believe it was getting close (after 10pm) in this shot.  It was bedtime for us -- what a wonderful, jolly day.  We all had a blast, regardless where we were from, and everyone reveled in Sheila's Happy Birthday!  Summer's here!